New JVG Quantum Decryption Algorithm Could Pose Risk to Classical Encryption

A new quantum decryption algorithm called JVG could significantly reduce the amount of resources needed to decrypt classical RSA encryption that we’ve been relying on for decades.

It’s been speculated for years that quantum computers will eventually be able to crack classical encryption. Classical encryption like RSA comes all the way back from 1977 and relies on the difficulty of factoring two large prime numbers.

But quantum computers have been theorized to be able to crack this encryption scheme in a reasonable amount of time with a powerful enough quantum computer.

Shor’s algorithm for a long time has been the gold standard for factoring prime numbers faster than any classical algorithm.

In order to work efficiently though, Shor’s algorithm needs a large quantum computer with at least one million qubits (quantum bits, the quantum equivalent of a bit in a classical computer). A quantum computer that powerful is theorized to be at least a decade away.

Although it’s not possible to break classical encryption currently, governments and criminal gangs are harvesting troves of encrypted data hoping to decrypt it when quantum computers become powerful enough, the so-called “harvest now, decrypt later” attack.

NIST has released standards for post-quantum cryptography that have made their way into messengers, TLS, and many other places. It could be argued that adoption hasn‘t been fast enough, however.

Signal, iMessage, and other messengers have been some of the early adopters, largely owing to the fact that messengers have the most sensitive information.

However, very popular messengers such as WhatsApp and Telegram still lack PQC E2EE.

The introduction of the new JVG algorithm could mean platforms have less time than previously thought to upgrade to PQC.

The algorithm could only require less than 5,000 qubits and complete decryption.

According to a paper by Jesse Van Griensven, the J in JVG:

Projection for RSA-2048 indicates that the JVG algorithm significantly outperforms Shor’s approach, requiring a projected quantum runtime of 11 hours for a factorization under identical scaling assumptions.

It’s important to note that Shor’s algorithm has been heavily studied and scrutinized over decades while this algorithm is quite new, so these claims haven’t had the same scrutiny.

Still, it’s alarming to even consider the possibility that the encryption we all rely on every day to keep the most personal details about us safe could be so close to being almost useless.

This research should be a call-to-action for mass adoption of PQC as soon as possible.